NEWSLETTER ISSUE 8 | FEBRUARY 2021
Industry News & Trends Product Feature Announcements Resources
2021: In with the New
Industry News & Trends Technology Updates
Where are new technological advancements going to take us and how will they change the automotive industry? New roadways, advancements of synesthetic fuels, and more are here! Read more to see what changes could be coming down the pipeline. Hail Claim Management Solution
A new system from Chief Collision Technology called Constellation is set to help collision shops and insurance providers estimate the damage to a vehicle caused by hail. After the mobile system is set up, it can begin an automatic and touchless scan that identifies the hail dents and their size.
Source: autodealertodaymagazine.com
Solar Roadways
The first solar roadway in the U.S. was installed in December of 2020. The stretch of road is in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and it is part of the Technology Parkway. The solar roadway is what it sounds like- a road created by solar panels, Wattway in this case, that can be laid over existing roads. The newly installed panels will help charge electric cars with the over 1,300 Source: motorauthority.com kilowatt-hours it is set to produce annually.
Synthetic Fuel
Porsche and Siemens Energy have plans to build a plant in Chile to create synthetic fuel or e-fuels. The synthetic fuel aims to work in both combustion engines and plug-in hybrids. This advancement will not only pave the way for future sports cars from Porsche but will also allow their classic cars to continue running in the years to come. Source: motorauthority.com
Fuel Cells will power Navistar Trucks Have you seen GM’s new logo?
GM has announced they will be supplying their Hydrotec power cubes, their branded name for fuel cells, to truck maker Navistar. This will allow tractor-trailers doing cross country long hauls to go for over 1,000 miles, decreasing the number of fill ups needed. This technology can also be used to power submarines and rail locomotives, so it seems likely more partnerships based on this power cube are yet to come. Source: forbes.com
FUN Industry FACT Over 100 years ago in 1916, the Model T Fords made up 55% of all the cars in the world. To this day that record has yet to be broken.
Automotive Aftermarket The Auto Care Industry
286.8 million vehicles on the road
273,060 repair shops Source: autocare.org factbook